Maybe Next Time
by Karin Kallmaker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Karin KallmakerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-01
ISBN: 1931513260
Number of pages: 264
Publisher: Bella Books
Book Reviews of Maybe Next Time
Book Review: "Maybe Next Time" delivers a memorable tale.
Summary: 5 Stars
Award-winning, best-selling author Karin Kallmaker has repeatedly proven that she has what it takes to spin a romantic tale. Kallmaker has an impressive body of work, and "Maybe Next Time" further shows her prowess. Her excellent command of the English language taps into human emotion as if she has invented it.
"Maybe Next Time," winner of a Lambda Literary Award for Romance, has everything readers expect from a love story, but with an edge.
Sabrina (Bree) Starling was a prodigy destined for greatness. An accomplished musician, she became a world-renowned concert violinist. The music spoke to her, and she felt as though the violin played her instead of vice versa. With talent, fame, and fortune, Bree would appear to have everything, but sadly, her gift came with a huge price and personal sacrifice. Was it fate, her own stubbornness, other people's jealousy of her talent, or a combination of these things that led Bree on the road to destruction? Would Bree ever realize that Jorie, her first love, the one person who makes her whole and fulfills her every desire cannot compete with a violin?
Unable to sustain a meaningful relationship with Jorie or the countless other women she slept with, Bree had many issues to overcome, including guilt after hurting her best friend Diane. Deep depression threatened to consume Bree. Wallowing in despair, guilt, and loneliness, she truly believed she deserved pain and suffering.
Kallmaker eloquently describes her character's state of mind and actions, which evokes the appropriate gut-wrenching response in her readers, including being angry and disappointed in Bree's poor choices but celebrating when she gets it right.
"Maybe Next Time" is one woman's journey to discover what is important in life. And the reader hopes she figures it out before it's too late. With foreshadowing and vivid imagery, Kallmaker sets up and explains the conflict Bree has with her music, Jorie, and Diane.
Bree's sexual awakening leaves her stunned when she discovers she's in love with Jorie, who along with Aunt Lani, is her "ohana," her family of blood or choice. "[Bree] was a musician, she was haole, she was Hawaiian, a mainlander, an islander, the daughter of a businessman and a singer. She was a woman and she liked girls...the list was long and it swirled like an arpeggio, different notes for different pieces of herself. The arpeggio became a chord and for a shining moment she understood all mysteries and magic, all wonder and music" (p. 37).
For most of her life, Bree felt the "sacrifices meant nothing because she was nothing without a violin" (p. 27). "Perfection was hers to reach for. The violin asked and she played" (p. 28). However, when Bree suffered a twist of fate and was at the lowest point in her life, she felt as though the "voice of her own violin poured over her body like lava" (p. 4).
Kallmaker uses catchy turns of phrase, descriptions that ring poetic, and analogies that make words read like symphonies. "The smile grew as she let the sun kiss her face with the last of its rays" (p. 31). Kallmaker describes the human condition from longing, desire, and love, to jealousy, fear, and loneliness. Bree always felt like an outsider. She was an orphan robbed of her childhood, but fortunately she was given a loving home with her Aunt Lani, who "tried to spare Bree the path of early fame, easy money, then the chill of not knowing who you really were, what you were made of, or who your ancestors were when life became hard" (p. 22).
Kallmaker adds morality to her work when Bree tries to save Jorie's daughter Penny from some of the hurt and shame she herself has endured from using women for pleasure. Bree tells Penny, "It's so easy to forget that sometimes things that feel good aren't good for you. You can't act like other people don't have feelings. You think you won't get hurt, but you do" (p. 103).
Filled with angst, sensitivity, intimacy, and joy, "Maybe Next Time" delivers a memorable tale. With flawed but likeable main characters, an intriguing plot with many surprises, award-winning prose and flawless editing, this five star novel epitomizes great romantic fiction. And in this reader's opinion, Karin Kallmaker tells it beautifully.
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